Polymers comprising vinyl acetate are very commonly used as an adhesive and coating material throughout industrial sectors (paper, textiles etc.). However, because of their adhesive properties these polymers often cause problems at later process stages.
For example, in the paper industry polymers comprising vinyl acetate are used as a binder and coating material. During recycling these polymers tend to agglomerate together with fibres and other substances to form so-called “stickies”, which reduce the quality of the paper product and results in a significant downtime of the machine.
WO 00/34450, WO 01/92502 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,796 report the use of certain lipases and cutinases in the manufacture of paper, viz. for pitch control. According to the above U.S. patent, pitch is a natural constituent of wood, and triglyceride is a major component thereof.
WO 01/98579 discloses the use of lipase and/or esterase for control of the problem with stickies during recycling of paper. The lipases designated RESINASE A2X, and NOVOCOR ADL, are included for comparison purposes in Examples 1-3 herein.